Madeline Colla interview

I feel honoured to be nominated. I am just trying to increase awareness of the danger of stroke and make my grandma proud.

Why is supporting the Stroke Foundation/raising awareness about stroke important to you?

As a form of dealing with grief after my grandma passed from suffering a stroke, I did a lot of research into stroke, trying to find out why. I found out how common stroke is and I want people to be aware of this. I aim to help increase the country’s health and wellbeing one day at a time. Raising awareness of stroke is a step in the right direction.

What motivated your fundraising to support the stroke community?

My family has always loved trivia and general knowledge. I just tried to give myself something to focus on while I grieved and this was a beautiful way to honour my grandma, bring my family together and raise money for a great and worthy cause.

What do you hope your fundraising will achieve?

I hope that my fundraising will assist with research and supporting those who look after and care for people who suffered from stroke and can no longer function on their own.

What is one thing you would like people to know about stroke?

Stroke can happen at any time and everyone should know the F.A.S.T signs to recognise a stroke. My grandma was unfortunate enough to have suffered a previous stroke before the fatal one. She had fully recovered from the first stroke but when the second started, she knew something was wrong and had enough time to call her own ambulance. Thanks to her fast actions, we had five days in palliative care to say goodbye to her.

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